← Real Survival Stories
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- [00:00]
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- [00:40]
Narrator
It'S July 27, 2012 above the jagged slopes of the western Tatra Mountains in Slovakia, a menacing storm swirls. Dark clouds plaster the sky and fat raindrops saturate the ground below, turning the soil into sludge. Ordinarily, at this time of the year, these hills are colorful and verdant, lush and alive with green. But right now everything is gray and black and sinister. The sky flashes and growls. On the slopes of Pre Slop Hill, a dangerous stream of debris is cascading down tree branches, boulders, stones and 31 year old hiker Andrei Orgvany it was.
- [01:33]
Andrei Orgvany
Like several things happened at the same time. At one moment you are sitting and at the second moment you are sliding down the mountains. And my first idea was is this earthquake because you just don't control anything.
- [01:47]
Narrator
There's nothing for Andre to grab onto. Every tree, plant root is engulfed in the deadly mudslide. He's totally discombobulated, at the mercy of the raging storm as it tears him away from the hiking trail, through the undergrowth and down the mountainside.
- [02:05]
Andrei Orgvany
One feeling was now we're sliding, falling down. The second I felt just excruciating pain.
- [02:14]
Narrator
When the stream of debris slows to a stop seconds later and spits Andrei out, he realizes the pain is radiating from his legs. He's unable to move a muscle and lays completely still on the slope. But Andre's pain and paralysis haven't been caused by an earthquake, as he suspects it's something else, something no less terrifying. He's been struck by lightning. As he tries to get his bearings, a chilling scream suddenly pierces the air, reminding Andrea that he's not alone. His friends Susanna and Tomasz were hiking on the trail with him when he fell. Have they been struck too? The high pitched wail rings out again and Andre recognizes it as coming from Susanna. Although her cries are full of fear, at least she's alive. But what about Tomash? Andrej squints through the pelting rain, shielding his eyes with shaking hands as he slowly, painfully twists his body to look for his other friend. Then he sees him. Tomasz is a few feet away, unmoving. Andrei calls out, but the only reply comes from the storm's orchestra of pounding rain, striking lightning and rumbling thunder.
- [03:41]
Andrei Orgvany
Thomas was completely silent and not moving. Nothing. And I was like, thomas, are you there? Are you there? He was silent. It was just so intense. Feeling that something terrible, terrible wrong has happened.
- [04:03]
Narrator
Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives. In this episode we meet Slovakian Andrei Oregvany. In July 2012, weeks before the birth of his second baby, Andre and two friends head to the Western Tatras to enjoy three peaceful days of backpacking. But the weather has other plans for their trip. And when they're caught in a ferocious storm on a precarious peak, their summer adventure becomes a dangerous battle against wind, rain, mudslides and worse.
- [04:56]
Andrei Orgvany
It was like in the movie when you are having this really good time and then something happens, you know, in a second that changes everything.
- [05:06]
Narrator
When lightning strikes the mountaintop, sending literal shockwaves through the group, their lives are left hanging in the balance and the storm isn't finished with them yet.
- [05:16]
Andrei Orgvany
And then you start to have these thoughts, maybe we are going to die. My kid should be born in three weeks. Maybe I will not be part of that anymore. This was really, really scary.
- [05:28]
Narrator
I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Network. This is Real Survival Stor It's 6am on July 27, 2012 in Slovakia. The pale summer sun rises above the craggy outlines of the Western Tatra mountains as friends Andre, Susanna and Tomasz bounce along the rough roads in the back of a bus. As the road twists and turns to the mountain's contours and passengers gawp at the impressive landscape, the trio chatter trepidatiously about the adventure ahead. The enormous 60 liter backpacks that sit at their feet are stark reminders of their challenge. A three day trek through Slovakia's most famous range. But Andre is no newbie. He knows all about long, arduous days of hiking and dark nights camped under the stars.
- [06:51]
Andrei Orgvany
Me, I have been there, or I had been there before that trip many times, especially in this first section that was close to my hometown. So maybe I've been there 10, 15 times on all those mountains. So it Was like there was another part why I was maybe over confident or hubris a little bit like, okay, what can happen?
- [07:15]
Narrator
So confident is Andre that when Tomas asks if he's bought mountain insurance just in case they run into trouble on the hike, he admits he hasn't.
- [07:25]
Andrei Orgvany
These are like my local mountains and that's I think thing you quite often underestimate kind of the more something you know, you have bigger tendency to underestimate that risks that are there.
- [07:41]
Narrator
Stretching almost 40 km along the Polish Slovak border, the Western Tatras range is part of the Carpathian Mountains and consists of some of Central Europe's highest summits. The peaks have lured in tourists and hikers for centuries with their jaw dropping panoramic views and adventurous trails. Andre was raised in these glorious environs.
- [08:09]
Andrei Orgvany
I grew up in the northern part of Slovakia, so that's border with Poland basically. And that's the most mountainous area in Slovakia. We had woods just, I don't know, five minutes walking from our place. So even when I was 9, 10, 11, I strolled with my friends in the nearby woods. And then as I grew older, we started do these trips to bigger mountains over the weekends. So there was this feeling of exploration, adventure, independence. So kind of adults are not telling you what to do, where to go.
- [08:47]
Narrator
Hiking was an early love of Andrey's. And as he grew from a child to a teenager to a young adult, he always found a way to fit it in. Even while Studying for his PhD in Bratislava, he traveled almost 2000 kilometers to Wales every summer holiday to work at an outdoors activity center. Be it the wild hills of Britain or the scenic mountains of Slovakia, Andrej was never more at home than in the wilderness. But as the years passed, life inevitably got in the way of his passion. Married with a baby and a demanding job in the corporate world, it became increasingly difficult to find time to enjoy the great outdoors.
- [09:34]
Andrei Orgvany
After I basically finished with my university and I started to do a kind of real professional life then, it was a period actually where hiking was more scarce. Then as I had a year when I was on the assignment in Spain, I was actually commuting to Madrid almost bi weekly or every week I was there. So there was a tough time. So going to mountains became a little bit of special thing to me. Very rare, unique.
- [10:03]
Narrator
That's why in 2012, when Andre and his wife learned their second child was on the way, he decided to give himself a break from the intense stress of work to briefly get back to nature.
- [10:17]
Andrei Orgvany
So that was for me kind of the trigger point that, okay, now after quite a long time, this is my chance to recharge in the nature, in the mountains. So let's go somewhere, let's do something.
- [10:31]
Narrator
Andre ran the idea of a backpacking trip past his hiking buddy, 29 year old Tomasz. The pair met while working in Wales many summers before. Also outdoorsy, Tomasz was keen for another trip with Andre after so long. Next on board was a colleague and close friend of Andrej's, 28 year old Susanna. Though relatively inexperienced as a hiker, she's an accomplished climber. And with that, the trio was formed. Now, as their bus rolls its way through the stunning Slovakian scenery, Andre, Thomas and Susanna discuss the route ahead. Due to the mixed abilities of the group and the fact that Andre hasn't been on an expedition for a few years, the hike needs to be relatively straightforward.
- [11:27]
Andrei Orgvany
Western Tatras are generally elevation is around 2,000 meters above sea, so you start usually around 1,000 meters or 800 meters. So you need to get some elevation first and then it's a ridge walk. You're all the time on the ridge. The valleys leading towards the ridge are usually quite long. It can be 10, 12, even 20 kilometers. The whole ridge is I think almost 50 kilometers long. Also to balance abilities of the group. We couldn't expect that we will do it, I don't know, in one day or two days, basically running. I can run it in one day, but back then it was like we need to take it more slowly.
- [12:15]
Narrator
What could be better than a gentle three day trek? Exploring the peaks during sun drenched days, then dropping down into the valleys to sleep at night? The friends reach down and do a final check of their backpacks. They're bursting with everything they need. Food, drinks, sleeping bags, camping gear and clothes for any weather. But Tomasz brings up insurance again. You can never be too careful. Andrei takes out his phone and quickly buys some just in case. As they near the trailhead, Andrej stares out of the bus's steamy windows, optimistic for three days of blue skies, bright sunshine and great adventure. Even though the weather forecast looks a little less optimistic.
- [13:07]
Andrei Orgvany
When you have kind of only one weekend where you can go somewhere, you sometimes have this tendency to compromise or to kind of to sugarcoat a little bit. And there was a weather forecast that says, yeah, it's might be sun and cloudy with some thunderstorms in the afternoons from the heat. Yeah. And you say okay, there might be some, but they might be also somewhere else. So I think kind of retrospectively, I didn't have 100 clear mind about that.
- [13:46]
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- [14:16]
Andrei Orgvany
Whistle while.
- [14:17]
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- [14:26]
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- [14:30]
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- [14:32]
Andrei Orgvany
Disney classic who's the fairest one of all?
- [14:37]
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- [14:38]
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- [14:41]
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- [14:50]
Narrator
It's 6:30am and Andre, Susanna and Tomasz step off the rickety bus onto the trailhead of the Western Tatras Range. They stretch and shake their limbs, loosening up. Right now, conditions are just as Andre had imagined. An azure sky stretches out for miles as the rising sun illuminates the green hillsides. Though their backpacks are heavy, their spirits are light as they take their first steps onto the trail. Initially, it's all about getting to higher ground, which means tackling some steep, uneven inclines.
- [15:29]
Andrei Orgvany
It's granite, it's rocky. It's not like you are all the time scrambling, but there is a fair share of that, especially the first day where you need to use hands to move forward. You do not need the ropes, but it's a scramble.
- [15:49]
Narrator
Things aren't exactly off to a leisurely start. In fact, it's tiring work as the group scrabble up and down the Rocky Mountains, using their hands to hoist themselves upwards and finding nooks and crannies to lodge their feet into. It's difficult trying to balance their weight plus that of the backpacks along narrow ridges and across shallow springs. But it's rewarding and the conditions are second to none.
- [16:18]
Andrei Orgvany
The morning was just stunning. It was sunrise, there was a blue skies. We were alone for first, maybe two or three hours. It was not too hot, not too warm. It was just amazing. Start of the hike. So we climbed this first one, maybe 1,800 meters and took us some, I don't know, two, two and a half hours. And then on that first peak that actually the ridge starts and we continue, then you start to see these first clouds. So it was not like only blue skies, but there was some clouds, some blue sky, but it was still very cheerful. It was like, yes, this was the best thing we could have done is Just to set up for this hike.
- [17:01]
Narrator
The hiking route is clearly marked by little red signs on the stones, so Andrei, Susanna and Tomasz navigate with ease. They make good progress, stopping just a few times for refreshments. And before they know it, morning has given way to afternoon. As the sun moves overhead, casting long shadows against the cliffs, the landscape around them changes. The grassy trail narrows and becomes more rocky underfoot, with sheer drops either side. The path grows so thin that the group has to move slowly in single file, with Andre taking the lead. They tread carefully as they descend into a saddle, the lowest area between two peaks. And at that moment, with their boots crunching against the loose scree, the first drops of rain start to gently, at first, nothing more than a light patter, a welcome contrast to the hot sun that's been warming their backs all morning. But as the descent continues, the skies darken and a moody gray erases the blue. The rain grows heavier and the wind picks up, turning the trail ever more treacherous. In conditions like these, there's a real risk of skidding on one of the slippery rocks or getting thrown off balance by a gust of wind missteps, which could send one of them off the path and straight over the edge. As the showers intensify, the trio start to see other hikers turning back. People don't want to get stranded in the storm, but for Andre, this adversity is part of the enjoyment.
- [18:48]
Andrei Orgvany
Maybe it was 3pm or something like that. It started to rain really heavily, so we put the raincoats on and we continued with the hike. And I can recall that there was this strange euphoric feeling to me that was like, yes, I don't need beautiful views because now I feel really alive. Because you were there hiking, there was a really strong, heavy rain falling, and it was really the moment of total ignorance or stupidity. I was shouting to the skies, is this all you have? Because I felt like I'm so strong, I don't mind whatever comes, you know, I felt this euphoria just from the fact that I'm alive and I'm there.
- [19:44]
Narrator
Heads down, bodies bent against the raging wind, Andrei, Susanna and Tomasz tread on down the narrow, slick ridge as it winds through the saddle of the mountain. Their faces are stung by the cold, their clothes drenched in the downpour. And then as they trek onto the next peak, Preyslop Mountain, the highest summit in this region, the weather starts to clear.
- [20:12]
Andrei Orgvany
It actually kind of got better. So we reached the saddle just before the highest peak, and the rain suddenly stopped. There were also other people in that saddle. And everyone was a little bit kind of hesitant or considering, okay, should I stay or should I go? The skies were split into two halves, so you could see even a sun somewhere in the distance on the south. But towards the north it was really dark, gloomy gray skies.
- [20:42]
Narrator
Ever the optimist, Andrei ignores the stormy skies to the north and points to the bright yellow sun gleaming in the distance. He assures Tomasz and Susanna that they're fine to continue. The tempest appears to be receding and they're already starting to dry off, so Andrei's sunny outlook doesn't seem unreasonable. Shaking the rain off their coats, they get back to it now onto the second part of the trail. The terrain gets slightly easier. There's less scrambling over rocks and balancing on narrow ridges and more open fields, grassy, expansive plains. But because of the distance from the trailhead, day visitors rarely make it out this far. As they trek onwards, faithfully following the red markers on the stones, Andrei, Susanna and Tomasz find that they're pretty much alone. The afternoon passes pleasantly as the trio amble through the rolling hills, skipping on stepping stones to cross shallow rivers. Then around 4pm, just as they're beginning another winding path down from the peak of Prieslop Mountain, the weather changes again. The storm has returned, and this time with a vengeance. Freezing rain falls in blinding sheets, obscuring the hiker's vision and soaking them to the bone. In mere minutes, mountainsides transform into into gushing waterfalls. Trees vibrate violently in the gales and paths turn into treacherous mudslides.
- [22:28]
Andrei Orgvany
The section that follows that highest peak, that's the most technical one, really tough one to handle even in a good weather. And we had the chat with Zuzana and Tomasz and me and Tomasz. Ah, I think we can do that. Yeah. It was like maybe two hours from I was supposed to camping site and we were like, okay, it's just rain, we can do that. But Zuzana, she was, and I really admire her for that, she said, I don't think it's safe anymore. We should come with a different plan. She had this kind of common sense, but also the guts to overpower the masculinity. So there was like an escape route, There was a side reach and following that way we should be able to reach the mountain hut down in the valley maybe in two hours. So the plan was we will hike down to that hut, we will spend the night there and then we will continue with just alternative route next day in the morning.
- [23:31]
Narrator
It's a sensible decision as the storm shows no sign of abating in single file. Led by Andre, the trio moves onto an offshoot from the main trail. But it's one of the narrowest tracks in the mountains. By now it's impossible to hear anything above the shrieking wind and hammering rain. And with each step they take, rocks and stones crumble beneath their feet, tumbling into the chasms below. Their progress is slow, every step deliberate. A well disguised tree root or uneven stone could send them flying. Andre meticulously leads his friends down, guiding and communicating as they go. But then everything changes.
- [24:18]
Andrei Orgvany
I was in the front of the group and I turned around to say something to Tomasz and Zuzana and then there was this huge crack close to us or behind us. I could literally see how face of Tomasz when paler, his eyes went wide and he said, okay, there was, there was a lightning, really just behind you, you know, really close to you. Then we realized, okay, now we need to make a decision because you are on this narrow ridge. You are the highest point on the ridge. Yes, you are sticking out of the ridge. There is not much place where you could escape because there are these steep drops on both sides and we didn't want to climb down. There was this fast decision making, okay, we have a situation. So there is a real risk because of course we knew that lightning can mess you up.
- [25:15]
Narrator
Dozens of electric white lightning bolts flash in the sky above, striking distant peaks like fluorescent daggers. In a wide open expanse like this, where the trees are scarce and rocks and water plentiful, lightning poses an enormous threat. Threat. They have to find shelter. Now.
- [25:38]
Andrei Orgvany
There was like this big rock sticking out of the ridge and that rock created sort of overhang. So when we climb below that rock, at least you have this feeling of shelter. So you are not 100% exposed. You are hidden, at least from one side from the wind. So we decided, okay, we will sit there and we will wait till storm finishes. So we sat on our backpacks, we pull out our food, we put a shelter over our heads and we were still kind of thinking, okay, so we should be fine.
- [26:15]
Narrator
Safe and dry for now. Beneath the jutting rock shelf, the three friends huddle together as the storm crashes around them. Thunder rumbles overhead and blades of lightning continue to electrocute the sky. The storm is moving closer. The seconds between thunder and lightning decrease to 5, then to 4 to 3. And then.
- [26:41]
Andrei Orgvany
It was kind of like imagined a huge bang and then it was like several things happened at the same time. You were at one moment you are sitting and the second moment you are sliding down the mountain. The drog we were sitting below lightning smashed the top of that rock.
- [27:01]
Narrator
An electric bolt from above has reverberated through the rock over their heads and fired into the three friends. A flash of lightning can be up to 300 million volts and can heat the air around it to 28 volts degrees Celsius, five times hotter than the surface of the sun. Andre, Susanna and Thomas have just borne the fury of this awesome natural force.
- [27:30]
Andrei Orgvany
So this pressure wave coming from the lightning that hit this rock, we started to basically slide down the mountain. And my first idea was is this earthquake because you just don't control anything. You are suddenly falling down, moving and so many things happen at the same time. So one feeling was now we are sliding, falling down. The second I felt just excruciating pain. So imagine you have like a needle that is stick to every single piece of your flesh. Almost unbearable. Then another feeling was this smell of burning flesh.
- [28:12]
Narrator
Smashed pieces of granite cascade around Andrei missing him by inches. The burning flesh he can smell is his own. The tingling pins and needles are waves of electricity piercing his muscles. He is powerless and paralyzed as he hurtles down the mountainside.
- [28:32]
Andrei Orgvany
This maybe took everything I just described. Maybe this took three or five seconds, but it was just so intense feeling that something terrible, terrible wrong has happened.
- [28:52]
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- [29:11]
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- [29:37]
Narrator
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- [29:39]
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- [29:57]
Narrator
Andre lies on the slope, unconscious and unmoving. Slowly he comes to the rain fires into his face and the wind shrieks all around. His legs are rigid with intense Pain. Then a shrill scream fills his ears. It's Susanna. Meanwhile, Tomash lies a few feet away, still and silent. The lightning has flung the three friends asunder, and right now it's not clear if they've all made it.
- [30:35]
Andrei Orgvany
And Susanna, she was panicking, shouting, screaming. She was obviously somehow hurt, but at least she was there. She was kind of present. That that was a really scary moment was that Tomasz was completely silent and not moving. Nothing. And I was like, tomasz, are you there? Are you there? But then in a really slow voice, he said, I'm alive. I'm here.
- [31:02]
Narrator
Relief washes over Andre, but there's little time to get sentimental. The storm is still exploding all around, lightning bolts still striking the very ground they're laying on. After some time, the pain in Andre's legs lessens to a mild cramp and a tingling. He is able to move again. But one look at his friends shows they have not been so lucky. Susanna is writhing on the ground in shock, while Thomas is too weak to move a muscle. If they don't get away from this exposed plane soon, they risk being struck a second time. And so it falls to Andre, the de facto leader of this group, to make sense of the chaos around and to take his friends to safety.
- [31:53]
Andrei Orgvany
Imagine you have a box of matches and you smash it on the ground and it's kind of all over the place. So first thing I try to do is collect the kind of items that were around us, like the backpacks and the shelter. And I tried to build, like a small legend, that's steep slope, so at least we have something we could sit on. So then I dragged them to that ledge and I tried to put a shelter above their head. And there was this really strong feeling, like I have never experienced that since, that the adrenaline was pouring out of my ears, like you feel at this moment, so energized, so rushed, just to save us somehow.
- [32:39]
Narrator
Andre works quickly in the storm, collecting their waterproofs and sleeping bags and constructing a makeshift shelter. So focused is he that he pays no attention to the torrents of rain or the wind numbing his hands or the roars of thunder above. Andre treks back and forth up and down the slippery slopes, dragging his friends to the shelter. Each time he ventures out into the open, he has to dodge the deadly lances of lightning that dance in his path. It's exhausting, backbreaking work. Andre's been outside for almost nine hours by now and has miles of hiking in his legs. There's no way he'll be able to keep this up for much longer. But he and his friends lives depend on it, so he pushes on. Finally, after half an hour from hell, Susanna and Tomas are safe in the temporary shelter, protected by waterproofs and camping gear and kept warm by blankets. Andrei takes advantage of their momentary safety to step outside and make a call to mountain rescue. But just as the phone is answered, something truly unbelievable happens. Lightning strikes. Twice.
- [34:04]
Andrei Orgvany
As I had this dispatcher of the mountain rescue on my line, there was a second lightning that hit. Luckily it was a small one. But imagine you are calling mountain rescue and then suddenly you kind of scream out of the pain into the phone because you get another electric charge into your body. Zuzana later told me that she saw like a spark going from my hand down to the earth, like half meter long electric spark that was very intense.
- [34:34]
Narrator
The odds of getting struck by lightning once are low, but twice in less than an hour. Perhaps Andre should buy a lottery ticket if he gets out of this. Vaults of electricity course through his veins, singeing the hair and skin on his arm. He flexes the fingers in his hands and gently bends his arm back and forth. By some miracle, he is okay. But the good news only stretches so far. On the other end of the phone, the mountain rescue team informs Andrei that their location is too remote to guarantee an immediate rescue. It will take at least two hours to get a team out to them. Two more hours stranded on the side of the mountain. Will Tomasz and Susanna make it that long? Will he? All Andrei could do now is huddle up with his friends and hope.
- [35:33]
Andrei Orgvany
That was, I think, the most terrifying part. Three of us sitting on the ledge. You are completely a disposal of the nature. You can't do anything because the friends, they couldn't move. You don't have this adrenaline rush anymore and you are sitting there and there are these lightning hits all around. Yeah. And then you start to have these thoughts that basically, oh, maybe we are going to die. My kids should be born in three weeks. Maybe I will not be part of that anymore.
- [36:05]
Narrator
As the doubts and the fears creep in, the friends agree to stay as a group. Whatever happens, they will face it together.
- [36:14]
Andrei Orgvany
You are at the mercy of Mother Nature, of the storm, that you are totally insignificant from the perspective of what is happening around you. This was really the scariest 45 minutes of my life.
- [36:35]
Narrator
Andre, Susanna and Thomas are drained, drenched and deserted in a vast wilderness. Every second passes more slowly than the last. But then finally, a reprieve. The thunder rumbles off into the distance and the blinding Flashes of lightning fade. The wind and rain are replaced by wispy clouds and a pale blue sky as a glimmer of sun breaks through.
- [37:10]
Andrei Orgvany
When the storm passed, it was suddenly kind of became like magical because you had this start of the sunset, so you have this really warm sun coming in. Clouds disappear. So you just see these patches of mist evaporating from the hills, and suddenly it seems so peaceful and quiet, like nothing had happened.
- [37:37]
Narrator
And there's more welcome news. On a slope above, two distant dots are growing larger by the second. As the dots move closer to the stricken friends, they morph into two human figures, other hikers. Andre frantically waves to them, calling for them to come over. When the hikers descend from the trail and reach the makeshift shelter, they quickly clock the weakened condition of Susanna and Tomasz. They explain that there's a ledge on the trail above which is far more protected and offers better shelter from the weather should another storm break out. Once again, Andre digs deep into his energy reserves and sets about moving his friends to higher ground. Together, he and the two newcomers stumble up the hill along its rutted, slippery paths, carrying Susanna and Tomasz to relative safety.
- [38:34]
Andrei Orgvany
After the storm finished, we were more focused on very basic things like, are you warm? Do you want to eat something?
- [38:43]
Narrator
Little by little, Tomasz and Susanna are made comfortable. But there's still no knowing how far away rescue is. The sun slips below the mountains, dying the sky first orange, then purple, then a dark navy. The five hikers stare out into the darkening abyss, praying their rescuers will arrive before nightfall. Eventually. Growing impatient of waiting, Andre wanders further down the mountain to look out for the S and R team. He wants to ensure they're not missed. He treks a few hundred feet past the rocky ledge that was first struck by lightning beyond the shelter he made for his friends, and onto an entirely deserted part of the peak. And as he does, a smile of relief stretches across his face. Three tiny trucks are speeding towards him in the distance. It's the rescue team. It's at this moment with the end in sight that Andre allows himself to take his phone out of his jacket pocket and make an important call.
- [40:00]
Andrei Orgvany
I decided I will give a call to my wife, and I just kind of told her kind of what happened. And that was the moment where I was really kind of broke into tears because you all this tension and all this kind of adrenaline that was like it was gone, kind of realized that kind of what I lost almost. I lost the time of, you know, being with my. With my kids and with her. That was really, really emotional moment for me.
- [40:31]
Narrator
With his wife on the end of the line, Andre watches the rescuers approach. When they arrive, he stuffs his phone back in his pocket and jogs alongside the team, guiding them to the ledge where his friends are waiting. More help shows up, a mixture of mountain rescue professionals and volunteers. They get to work quickly, wrapping Susanna and Tomas in aluminum blankets to keep them warm before strapping them onto stretchers. It's still a challenge from here, traversing the narrow, gnarly trails while carrying two injured individuals. As the darkness grows, you are still.
- [41:10]
Andrei Orgvany
In quite technical, steep terrain, so it's not that easy to carry a person down. So you need like six people per stretcher, sometimes four if it is really narrow. They started to carry them down and it took a while, but maybe after 45 minutes to one hour, they were able to carry them down to a grassy saddle area where a helicopter can land.
- [41:38]
Narrator
Andre walks behind the stretchers, chatting to the rescue team as he goes. It's almost 9pm and they're reliant on the feeble beams of their head torches to make out the path. Progress is slow but steady, and when they eventually reach the saddle, a helicopter is already hovering above. A wire dangles down from the rotorcraft and Andre's friends are attached and reeled in before being flown to the nearest. You don't wake up dreaming of McDonald's fries. You wake up dreaming of McDonald's hash browns. McDonald's breakfast comes first.
- [42:26]
Jack Welch Management Institute Advertiser
Ba da ba ba ba.
- [42:29]
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- [42:59]
Narrator
Though he has been out in formidable weather for over 12 hours and has been struck by lightning twice, Andrei assures the rescue team that he's physically fine. He says he'll make his own way to the hospital. A few hours later, Andrei sits on a gurney, a doctor checking him over. It's confirmed that astonishingly, his injuries aren't serious. His friends, however, I've been somewhat less fortunate.
- [43:31]
Andrei Orgvany
Thomas got kind of the highest load or biggest hit because he was really weak and he could barely speak. He didn't have any obvious injury, but it was really Clear that he is not in a good shape in a way that he was really weak, unable to move by himself. Susanna, she had more serious burns because if you have like a iron buckle or a zip or something like that from the metal, then usually these are the easiest place where the lightning gets into your body. My wife especially, she started calling me unbreakable when I came with the rescuers. She saw, like, you look like nothing happened to you. What's wrong with you? Are you unbreakable?
- [44:19]
Narrator
Unbreakable he might be. But Andrei doesn't credit his survival to any personal or physical attributes. Instead, he believes it was mainly down to luck as well as a profound sense of purpose he felt when he saw his friends in trouble.
- [44:34]
Andrei Orgvany
I can vividly recall that I felt this tremendous responsibility for not only myself, but for my friends, that, okay, I'm the one that needs to act now, that needs to, to do something and not kind of be occupied with the panic or with the fear.
- [44:57]
Narrator
Andre's actions on the mountain undoubtedly helped to save the lives of Susanna and Tomasz. Thankfully, none of their injuries are long lasting and all three friends are able to return to their normal lives within months, even eventually making it back into the wilderness when time allows it.
- [45:15]
Andrei Orgvany
I haven't stopped going out there to outdoors, to the mountains, but I'm definitely more cautious about storms and I have this kind of a set of rules in my mind that now I'm really thoroughly apply. So last time we're getting in other parts of the Tatras and I said to my friend that hey, whenever we hear the thunder nearby, we turn around and go. So I'm very much conscious about that. But you can still enjoy mountains despite this kind of experience.
- [45:48]
Narrator
Just three weeks after the lightning strikes, Andre celebrates the birth of his second child. He names him Tomasz and he welcomes his baby boy into the world with a renewed respect and gratitude for life.
- [46:04]
Andrei Orgvany
Especially especially these first minutes after the lightning. It was so terrible, painful, scary. I definitely became very grateful for what I have in my life because you really, really realize how you can lose everything you care about in a second. To this sense of gratefulness I carry ever since.
- [46:40]
Narrator
Next time on Real Survival Stories, we hear the story of the biggest offshore disaster in history. In the summer of 1988, 29 year old Joe Meanan is stationed on the Piper Alpha, an oil rig in the North Sea. It's one of the busiest rigs in the the world around the clock drilling operation. But in July 1988, a catastrophic fire breaks out on the platform and the 226 people stationed on board will be thrust into a hell on earth. All of a sudden, there was a huge explosion.
- [47:14]
Andrei Orgvany
Whole platform rocked back forward.
- [47:17]
Narrator
We actually didn't know what had happened. You just knew something horrendous had happened. That's next time on REAL Survival Stories. Listen right now without waiting a week by subscribing to NoiserPlus.
- [47:33]
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- [48:02]
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